Read about the latest shenanigans at Lost Peacock Creamery

We should care that the animals producing our milk are given rich and full lives and we should care that the offspring they produce are treated equally well. Matthew and I refuse to be one of those dairies that dumps babies in slaughterhouses or local rescues and so this is our answer to a problem that has been slowly building over the years. It is, what we hope, the right solution for us as we continually work to build a sustainable business model that allows others to mimic what we are doing and start their own microdairies, while making a living wage.

In no way do I want to demonize large commercial dairy farmers. These hard working men and women love their cows, their land, their families, everything. That’s why they’re still on their farms, milking their animals, and fighting, like hell, to pay their bills. I feel confident in saying their perfect scenario would most likely be many small dairy farms, around major cities, providing milk for those cities. This would create a dynamic where a farmer can take pride in the quality of his or her milk, how well he cares for his herd, and the relationship he has with his customers. I can’t think of a single farmer who wants to be part of the only giant farm providing milk for the entire country. Diversification and smaller dairies is safer for our communities, better for our environment, and healthier for everyone involved.

It’s empowering to be around a creature that isn’t susceptible to the pressure of social norms. It’s freeing to laugh at farts. It’s fun to be the center of attention (which in a field full of goats you most definitely are). It’s magical to laugh with reckless abandon with a group of strangers because a goat dropped a pile of milk duds on your mat.

It’s so easy, especially in the world of social media, where the majority of everyone’s posts are their bests, a delicious meal at a fancy restaurant, flowers from a boyfriend, vacationing anywhere but where you are, to feel inadequate. That feeling can become crippling, debilitating.

Running a dairy is a recurring debit on your soul. An emotionally exhaustive expense that pulls from the depths of your being. Luckily, those of us who are called to farm take daily deposits that mean we can usually exist without being in the red…but sometimes it’s just one sucker punch after another and you find yourself curled up in the corner of a barn weeping uncontrollably.

The root of who I am is a person stands in me and me alone. My children are a living and breathing extension of my soul, yes. I would never argue with that. They are the only humans alive who know what my heart sounds like from the inside of my body, but they do not define me. Matthew, who healed me in ways I didn’t even know I was broken, is my husband yes, but he does not define me. This farm, these goats, all of these animals…they’re a part of my story but they aren’t my only story.

These amazing people, with taste buds of gold, are the “gatekeepers to the cheese.” When you don’t know what kind of cheese to buy for a party, or for dinner, or to go with a certain meal, or to scratch a certain “itch” your mouth has been asking for, you can ask them. Not only do they have an opinion, they have an opinion that’s backed by years of studying and appreciating cheese.

This morning we made our last batch of cheese. We weren’t planning for this to be our last batch, but when we went to make cheese we only had 11 gallons. Matthew and I said it at exactly the same time. “The girls are done.”

The other night we were all curled around her watching a movie. I was on the hospital bed with her tickling her arm and playing with her hair. All of a sudden she turned to me as if to say something urgent. But she went to speak and the words wouldn’t come. I said, “Obachan, do you want to say something?” And she nodded. I kissed her forehead and said, “Do you want to tell me how much you love me?” I was half joking, because we’d already been through about 10 rounds of guessing what she was trying to say. But she started nodding vigorously. “I love you too,” I said. And I kept cuddling her old, broken, dying body.

We’re going to bring you a 10 minute daily practice complete with goats. Why involve the goats? Because, it’s a cornerstone to our personal belief that all of us can benefit from even a Frankenstein version of yoga. Your skill level doesn’t matter. What matters is that you’re out there doing it.

It’s that time of year. The time of year when all small business owners start getting calls and emails, asking if they’d like to donate a product or an event experience to the gala/auction/charity event/etc. Donation Season.

At some point in her life someone will tell her she is too much. She’s too fast, too loud, too silly…I fight like hell to not be that person. One of my biggest fears is that she will be smothered by this world, chewed up and molded into a half semblance of the person she came out of my body being.

Maybe someday we’ll write a book. And we’ll call it, “How Not to Start a Goat Dairy.” And everyone will buy it because it will be hilariously funny in the, can you believe those people did, kind of way.

The other night, as Matthew and I were pouring our tired bodies into bed, both children asleep, Obachan all tucked in (more on that later), the animals milked and fed, cheese orders packaged up and ready to go out the next morning, and just a few dishes still in the sink from dinner (sleep > clean kitchen), he said to me…

Cooking with incredible ingredients can elevate any meal. This was pretty much the case every night for us. As farmers we have access to the most pure ingredients in the world. Sometimes our whole plate was filled with a feast from the farm, veggies, berries, eggs, cheese, and meat...but other nights we loaded up on veggies and let the cheese be the star of the show…

Before the mainstream use of chemicals all farmer's practiced regenerative agriculture. They would rotate cows, cover crops, market crops, you get the idea, across their land. This practice actually made their farms more resilient to pests, increased the nutrition in the soil, and produced healthier, safer food…

For all the people out there who may be wanting to help someone grieve: Don't treat to fix it. There's nothing to fix. Don't ignore it. It will sit there like an elephant in the room making everyone uncomfortable. Speak their name. Share a memory. Offer a listening ear. Be present.

Our farm loan company, Northwest Farm Credit Services, as part of the bigger Farm Credit Counsel, brought together Veterans from all over the country who have taken the leap into farming post military service…

We're all born as blank slates. It's what we put into our bodies, the food we eat, the experiences we internalize, and the relationships we allow into our hearts, that start to write the script for who we will become…

I'll never forget standing in our cheese make room with our inspector, 5 days after giving birth, going through all the final inspections, trying not to pass out from pain. That same day I developed a case of mastitis and desperately needed to just lie down and heal…

Matthew and I love events at the farm. We love seeing the joy on people's faces when they interact with the goats, when they see a peacock spread it's tail feathers for the first time, when they hear a flock of guinea fowl chatter about...

We are in full blown kidding season and, right before we went to bed last night, two of our Mamas appeared very close to kidding. Matthew and I took turns doing barn checks throughout the night while also juggling two children who, I swear to you, coughed all.night.long.

Yes. We are charging for tickets to these events. Charging for tickets means we are able to keep them small (so that everyone gets a truly personal experience with the babies) and, honestly, it's how we pay our bills…

Since our last frantic post of all the things we needed to get done before winter, things have started to slow down. We still have some big things to get done, of course. The horse shelter needs walls (it's only a roof at this point), the pasture needs to be limed, we are re-grading our driveway, re-shaping the main dairy girl's pasture to change the way the field drains into the barn…